Caught in the Net

Earlier this month, I sat in my hotel’s business center at 2 am. I was glued to the computer, watching the A’s finish off a three game sweep of the Twins in the first round of the playoffs. Thanks to MLB.com and the arrival of dsl service in Tehran, the impossible had become reality. Three years ago, when I spent six months in Iran from March through September (virtually the entirety of the Major League Baseball season) I would have killed for dsl. Iran was taking another step towards joining the contemporary world, it seemed.

The Internet, as in much of the world, has become a common part of reality in Iran, with millions of people online, and many more logging on every day. It’s one of the pieces of modern life that makes it impossible that Iran would ever become shut off from the world as North Korea is. Since I’ve been visiting Iran, Internet cafes have been an integral part of the landscape in every city, including Qom, the religious center of Iran, where I’ve even seen mullahs instant messaging. Along with satellite television and growing trade and educational ties with the other countries, the Internet has helped young Iranians stay connected.

As with everything new and potentially volatile, some conservative mullahs have tried to stop its use. In 2004 one Ayatollah issued a warning about the evils of “sharks” on the net and the possibility of addiction. Clearly, it didn’t deter anyone from using the web.

A disturbing trend has begun though, that threatens the future of the World Wide Web in Iran. Since it arrived, the government in Iran has blocked many websites, mostly for political and sexual content. Recently, though, social networking sites like MySpace, friendster and orkut have been blocked as well. Even craigslist is blocked. This is particularly hard to take, as they were a link for many young Iranians to the outside world.